Barack Obama

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas). Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party.

Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident when the younger Obama was twenty-one years old.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
U.S. Fears Greater Turmoil In Region
President Bush held an emergency meeting of his top foreign policy aides yesterday to discuss the deepening crisis in Pakistan, as administration officials and others explored whether Thursday's assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto marks the beginning of a new Islamic extremist...
(By Thomas E. Ricks and Robin Wright, The Washington Post)

In Bush's Final Year, The Agenda Gets Greener
(By Peter Baker, The Washington Post)

Romney Eyes Huckabee Lead
Onetime Favorite Launches 11th-Hour Attacks
(By Dan Balz and Michael D. Shear, The Washington Post)

Sales Of New Houses Plummet
Rate Is Lowest In a Dozen Years
(By Allan Lengel, The Washington Post)

Caucus or 'Caucus!,' It's the Old Song and Dance
(By Jose Antonio Vargas, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
About This Series
This is one of an occasional series of articles on the presidency of George W. Bush in its final chapters, a presidency imperiled by an unpopular war abroad, a diminished domestic agenda, a hostile Congress and near-record-low approval ratings. Previous installments have explored the president's...
(The Washington Post)

In Bush's Final Year, The Agenda Gets Greener
(By Peter Baker, The Washington Post)

Millions in Earmarks Purchase Little of Use
(By Robert O'Harrow Jr., The Washington Post)

Obama, Edwards Fight Over 'Change'
(By Shailagh Murray and Anne E. Kornblut, The Washington Post)

Romney Eyes Huckabee Lead
Onetime Favorite Launches 11th-Hour Attacks
(By Dan Balz and Michael D. Shear, The Washington Post)

More Politics

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NATION
In Bush's Final Year, The Agenda Gets Greener
People find all sorts of ways to lobby President Bush. Sometimes it comes in the form of a handwritten note slipped into his palm during a bill-signing ceremony.
(By Peter Baker, The Washington Post)

Millions in Earmarks Purchase Little of Use
(By Robert O'Harrow Jr., The Washington Post)

U.S. Fears Greater Turmoil In Region
Pakistan's Crisis Could Affect War In Afghanistan
(By Thomas E. Ricks and Robin Wright, The Washington Post)

Bad Weather Cuts Flights Through Midwest Hub
(By Del Quentin Wilber and Kendra Marr, The Washington Post)

Ruling Against Muslim Group Is Overturned
Former Charity, Others Not Liable in Teen's Death
(By Darryl Fears, The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
Returning the Condor To S. America's Skies
BUENOS AIRES -- The conservationists tend to get a little tense when they approach Egg 54, which sits alone on a metal tray inside an incubator, absorbing warm air like some sort of fragile, slow-baked potato.
(By Monte Reel, The Washington Post)

Bomb in Baghdad Kills at Least 7 In Crowd of Mostly Shiite Shoppers
Iraq Threatens to Cut Off Oil to S. Korea Over Kurdish Contract
(By Joshua Partlow and Zaid Sabah, The Washington Post)

Masses Mourn Bhutto as Unrest Spreads
(By Griff Witte, The Washington Post)

U.S. Fears Greater Turmoil In Region
Pakistan's Crisis Could Affect War In Afghanistan
(By Thomas E. Ricks and Robin Wright, The Washington Post)

Bush Plans to Veto Defense Policy Bill
Iraq Redevelopment Concerns Cited
(By Amy Gardner, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
Checks On D.C. Workers Proposed
The top prosecutor in the District says that D.C. government employees should be subjected to financial background checks as a way to more quickly spot theft within the workforce.
(By Keith L. Alexander, The Washington Post)

2 Teenagers Die in Blaze As Rescue Efforts Fail
Father Tries to Reach Trapped Fairfax Girls
(By Annie Gowen, The Washington Post)

Dance Hall Patrons Lament Last Call for 'Polka Time!'
After 74 Years, Bavarian Beer Garden in Md. Will Bid Auf Wiedersehen
(By Steve Hendrix, The Washington Post)

Woman in Critical Condition After Being Found in Road
(By Clarence Williams and Martin Weil, The Washington Post)

Has the West Nile Virus Come And Gone? Hardly, Experts Warn.
(By Raymond McCaffrey, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Struggling Bond Insurers Get New Rival: Warren Buffett
NEW YORK, Dec. 28 -- Warren E. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is entering the bond insurance business in a move that could lower borrowing costs for local governments having a hard time raising money during the credit crunch.
(By Tomoeh Murakami Tse, The Washington Post)

New Life for Unwanted Gifts
It's High Season for Firms That Resell Returned Items
(By Ylan Q. Mui, The Washington Post)

Bad Weather Cuts Flights Through Midwest Hub
(By Del Quentin Wilber and Kendra Marr, The Washington Post)

Millions in Earmarks Purchase Little of Use
(By Robert O'Harrow Jr., The Washington Post)

In Bush's Final Year, The Agenda Gets Greener
(By Peter Baker, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
Millions in Earmarks Purchase Little of Use
The National Defense Center for Environmental Excellence opened its doors in 1991 with a $5 million earmark from a powerful lawmaker. Operating in Johnstown, Pa., the privately run center has received at least $671 million worth of federal contracts and earmarks since then to research and develop...
(By Robert O'Harrow Jr., The Washington Post)

Online Networking Goes Small, and Sponsors Follow
(By Kim Hart, The Washington Post)

Shoppers Loved Gadgets No More Than Last Year
(By Mike Musgrove, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
Terps Drop the Ball
Yvenson Bernard couldn't be stopped, and Oregon State's defense never let Maryland get started in a 21-14, Beavers victory in the Emerald Bowl on Friday night.
(By Marc Carig, The Washington Post)

A Win, and They're In More Than the Playoffs
(By Mike Wise, The Washington Post)

Wizards Falter Down Stretch
Washington Loses 6th Straight at N.J.: Nets 109, Wizards 106
(By Ivan Carter, The Washington Post)

TCU Takes Texas Bowl
TCU 20, Houston 13
(By Kristie Rieken, AP)

Jobe a Cavalier in a Texas Tech Family
(By Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
Rated PU, Unfit for Any Audience
LOS ANGELES 'Tis the season for critics to brighten our lives with earnest little lists of their favorite films of the year, to celebrate the tippiest toppiest cinematic achievements that have blessed our big screens -- however fleetingly -- with tales of star-crossed love, psychotic mayhem and ...
(By William Booth, The Washington Post)

Letterman And Writers Strike Deal, Giving CBS The Edge
(By Paul Farhi, The Washington Post)

NAMES & FACES
(The Washington Post)

Caucus or 'Caucus!,' It's the Old Song and Dance
(By Jose Antonio Vargas, The Washington Post)

Kucinich Writing Off His Autobiography, Book's Publisher Says
(By Howard Kurtz, The Washington Post)

More Style

EDITORIALS
The Pakistan Test
THE ASSASSINATION of Benazir Bhutto presented U.S. presidential candidates with a test: Could they respond cogently and clearly to a sudden foreign policy crisis? Within hours some revealing results were in. One candidate, Democrat John Edwards, passed with flying colors. Another, Republican Mike...
(The Washington Post)

Correction
(The Washington Post)

A Tighter Ship at Justice
Michael Mukasey limits political contacts.
(The Washington Post)

School Board Shuffle
Montgomery County will soon vote on three important seats.
(The Washington Post)

More Editorials

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